When a MacArthur Genius Taps Into Computers

After dark dancing from sidewalk to light booth downtown, Cinco de Mayo dance celebrations in Northridge and Pasadena, world dance in East Hollywood and Santa Monica, contemporary dance with a mountain view in Glendale, flamenco meets tango in Venice, and more SoCal dance this busy week.

5. Two holidays in one show

Traditional dances from Mexico celebrate both Mother’s Day and Cinco de Mayo as artistic director Gema Sandoval and her DanzaFloricanto/USA present 5 de Mayo. Dances come from Nayarit, Sinaloa, Jalisco, the Mayan area of the Yucatán and turn of the century Mexico with help from the ensemble’s musical collaborators Mariachi Mezxicapan. ARC Pasadena, 1158 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Sat., May 4, 8 p.m., $20 in advance, $25 at door, $15 students & seniors at door, $5 children under 12 years at door. 323-261-0385. http://www.danzafloricantousa.org/store.php.

The starting point is the night as CalArts Dance considers dreams, darkness, stars, and clubs under the umbrella title Nocturne. The show promises that the choreographers who include Julie Bour, Dimitri Chamblas, Brigette Dunn-Korpela (B.DUNN Movement), Nina Flagg, Rosanna Gamson, Spenser Theberge, Sam Wentz, Stephanie Zaletel (szalt) have created an “immersive, multi-track installation” from the sidewalk through the lobby and into the light booth, dressing rooms and the venue’s actual theater. Details at https://redcat.org. REDCAT at Disney Hall, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown; Fri-Sat., May 3-4, 8:30 p.m., $20, $16 students. https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1003497.

CalArts Dance’s Brigette Dunn-Korpela. Photo by Daniel Deleon Studio.

2. A sunset setting

The light slowly changing as the sun sets on the San Gabriel Mountains adds a special extra element to the dancing as contemporary choreographer Jessica Kondrath’s GRAYSCALE performs works driven by music. This is the second of three offerings in this venue’s deservedly long-running dance series. Brand Library & Art Center, 1601 W. Mountain St., Glendale; Sat., May 11, 6 p.m., free. https://www.brandlibrary.org.

GRAYSCALE. Photo by Denise Leitner.

1. Ask Alexa to tap dance

Winner of a 2015 MacArthur Fellowship and hailed as the current face of tap dance, Michelle Dorrance brings her Dorrance Dance to town for one performance. Collaborating with Bessie Award-winning Nicholas Van Young, Dorrance developed, and her troupe performs on, percussive electronic tap boards where the dancers’ movements simultaneously create or contribute to the music, a result dubbed ETM or Electronic Tap Music. Years ago, L.A. tapper Al Desio and others experimented with electronically amplified taps, but those efforts predated the marvel of microchips and few before Dorrance applied the idea to larger group works such as ETM: Double Down which receives its West Coast premiere. Dorrance employs a range of music in support of free-ranging tap styles and ideas. Overall, the troupe is less the intense, almost internalized percussive tapping of Savion Glover or the contained elegance of Fred Astaire, and more closely recalls the joyful, exuberant, athletic tap style of Gene Kelly, if Kelly had played around with an electronic tap board. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Fri., May 3, 7:30 p.m., $39-$119. https://www.scfta.org/events/2019/dorrance-dance.

Dorrance Dance. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Other dance of note:

A three day festival celebrating Cinco de Mayo opens with Patria Grande (Big Homeland) performed by Ballet Folklórico Universidad De Colima. The Soraya Center for the Performing Arts, Cal State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge; Fri., May 3, 8 p.m. $34-$79. (818) 677-3000. https://www.thesoraya.org/.

Everyone gets into the act as dance and music ensembles drawn from faculty and students perform in CalArts’ World Music and Dance Festival. Find a complete line up and schedule of performers at the website. CalArts, Remo & Ami Belli Stage & Wild Beast Concert Pavilion, 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia; Fri., May 3, 5:30 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., May 4-5 11:30 a.m., free with reservation.https://music.calarts.edu/world-music-and-dance-festival.

With the current tv series tracking the relationship of dancer Gwen Verdon and choreographer/director Bob Fosse who choreographed and directed Pippen, the new production of the musicalfrom Lineage Dance is well timed. For this dance-drenched show, Lineage’s dancers are joined by singers and actors to fully realize the musical, a supposed biography of Pippen, the son of the conqueror Charlemagne and his Candide-like travails. First United Methodist Church, 500 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Fri., May 3, 10 & 17, 8 p.m., Sat., May 11 & 18, 8 p.m., Sun., May 5, 12 & 19, 7 p.m., $20-$35. https://www.lineagepac.org/.

The interplay of the architecture contained in R.M. Schindler’s famous concrete “Slab-Tilt” Schindler House in West Hollywood and artist Alison Knowles’ 1960’s intermedia piece The Play House is grist for Shelter or Playground-The House of Dust at the Schindler House, a series of performative investigations. Last month the four month exhibit launched with a day of performances from an international roster of choreographers including locally-based Milka Djordjevich. Djordjevich’s work is the only dancemaker getting a repeat showing, twice a month until June. Details on the architecture and avant garde movement that inspired this event and the extended endeavor that incorporates Djordjevich’s performances at https://makcenter.org. Schindler House, 835 N. Kings Rd., West Hollywood; Sat., May 4 & 18, June 1, 3 p.m., free. https://makcenter.org. Milka Djordjevich, photo courtesy of France Los Angeles Exchange (FLAX;

About the author

Ann Haskins has written about dance for L.A. Weekly since shortly after it began publishing. She also has written about local and national dance for Pointe Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, L.A. View, Coast Magazine, the Daily News, and the Herald Examiner. Among her broadcast projects, Ann hosted Inside Theater on KCRW-FM and contributed dance and theater features to both KLON-FM and KUSC-FM. She has received two Horton Awards from the Los Angeles Dance Resource Center for her coverage of dance in Los Angeles.

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